Stop signal



Jan. 30, 19 40. c; GAYNQN' 2,188,835.

STOP SIGNAL Filed Aug. 25, 1938 latented Jan. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES *PATENT OFFICE I I s'ror SIGNAL Claude E. dayn on, Jacksonville, Fla. Application August 25, 1938, Serial LIT-0.226397" 2,Claims. (o1. i t szyf.v N

This invention relates to an improved stop signal adapted to be used on road vehicles in general and on school buses in particular.

v x The rural sections ofmost States now trans- 5' port children to and from school by motor bus and the counties employing this system usually have traffic laws forbidding motorists to pass a school bus in either direction when it is stopped v for loading or unloading children, so that the 10' children may safely cross the highway while the traffic is stopped. i y e It is a primary object of this invention'to provide a signal particularlyadapted for school buses whichwill indicate to drivers of other? 'vehic1es approaching the bus from either direction, while itis not in motion, that the bus must not be passed to insure the safety of those children who are required to cross the highway to reach their homes. v

More particularly, it is an aim of this invention to provide a signaling element adapted to be I hinged to the outer side of'a motor vehicle and to be connected to a" crank disposed in the cab of the vehicle whereby the signaling element may be moved by the driverof the vehicle from an inoperative position, against the side of the bus, to an operative position at right angles to said side, and back to its inoperative position.

Still a further object of the invention is to 30 provide means whereby the signaling element will be automatically retained against movement in either its inoperative position or operative position until actuated by a lever positioned adjacent the drivers seat. t 35 Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, which illustrates a preferred form of the invention, and wherein 40 Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the 50 element, shown in dotted lines, in its operative position.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different 55 "views, I0 designates generally a portion, of the left hand side of amotor vehicle to the outer side of which'is secured the plate II by means of the fastenings l2 whi'chextend therethrough and through the side it);

A-signaling :plate' orboard designated generally 5 lil'is hinged atone of its ends, as indicated at It to one end of the plate H, and as seen in Figures 1 and 2 lies substantially parallel to the outer side of the side l0 andis held out of 'engagement therewith by the bumper l5 which is secured tothe sidelll and which engages against the free end of the plate 13. The plate i3 extends, preferably, toward the rear of the vehicle to-which it is attached, when in a closed position and is provided with an outwardly extending 1'5 apertured lug It adjacentits hinged end which is loosely 'connected'by means of the bolt I! to the freeends of the fork N3, the shank [9 of which is provided with a threaded bore to re-, ceive the threaded end of the rod 20.

Plate 'I'I, and theside Ill are provided with the alined openings'20' in ,whichis journaled the bushing 2i which'journals the shaft'22; the ope posite ends of which. project beyond the ends of the bushing. The crank arms 23 and 24 are keyed 25 to theiopp'ositeend'sof the shaft'22 and are provided with openings adjacent their free ends; Crank arm 23, which is disposed on theouter side of the vehicle, has the opposite end of the rod 20 extending through its opening and connected thereto by means of a cotter pin 25. This end of the rod 28 is bent relatively to its inter-. mediate'portion and threaded end and is pivotally mounted in. the opening of the crank arm 23. i v

Secured to the inner side of the wall II], by means of the fastenings 26 is a plate 21 provided with a threaded opening 28 in which is mounted the threaded end 29 of a headed bolt 38 on which is journaled a crank lever 3i. A rod 32 has its opposite ,ends bent substantially at i right angles to its intermediate portion with one of said ends pivotally connected in the opening of the crank arm 24 and the'opposite end pivotally connected in an opening 33 in the shank of the crank lever 3! to connect the lever 3| and the crank arm 23. c t

The lever 3| is adapted to be positioned adjacent the drivers seat of the motor vehicle to which the signaling apparatus is attached so that the driver by swinging the lever 3| forward will swing the crank arms 23 and 24 forward to swing the signaling plate I3 outwardly and forwardly to a position substantially at right angles to the side of the vehicle. When the plate 13 is thus extended in its open or operative position, the lever 3| will be extending forward so that the link 32 will be disposed substantially across the pivot or at or slightly past a dead center position to retain plate I3 extended until the lever 3| is swung upwardly and back to its position as seen, in dotted lines, in Figure 1. When plate I 3, is in its inoperative position as seen in Figures 1 and 2, the pivot connection of crank arm 23 and rod 20 is slightly below the dead center of the shaft 22 and the lug I6 to retain plate I3 in Plate I3 is preferably colored on both sides in,

a color to contrast with the'words Stop which are written on both sides thereof and in letters which extend substantially the length of the plate I 3 to be clearly visible to drivers approaching the bus from either direction so that when the signal is in its extended position it will serve as an ample warning that the vehicle to which the signal is attached is not to be passed, from either direction, Plat I3 may be of any desired length and is preferably of sufiicient length so that when it is in its open extended position it will extend partway, at least, into the lane of the road reserved for traflic moving in the opposite direction to the bus to definitely indicate that traffic moving in bothdirections on the road is supposed to stop. v

It will be noted that the link formed by the fork I8 and the rod 20 may be adjusted as to length by adjusting the threaded end of the rod 20 in the shank I9 to vary the swing of the plate I3 so that this plate will not swing short of or past a position substantially laterally of the vehicle to which it is attached. Bolt I1 is loosely mounted in the opening of the lug I6 to rock relatively thereto to accommodate the vertical swing of the fork I 8 as the crank arm 23 moves up-. wardly and downwardly.

Various modificationsand changes in the conr struction and arrangement of the parts forming the signal may obviously be made and are con templated, as the drawing and description are only intended to illustrate a preferred embodi- 1 ment thereof.

I claim as my invention: v 1. In a signaling device for motor vehicles, a

signaling plate adapted to be hinged at one of its 1 ends to the outer side of a motor vehicle, a shaft extending through said side, cranks keyed to the opposite ends of said shaft, a link pivotally connected to the free end of one of said cranks and a I vehicle, and a link connecting said operating lever and the free end of said other crank whereby said signaling plate may be swung outwardly to a position substantially at right. angles to the axis of said vehicle, said last mentioned link being disposed beneath its dead center when said plate is in its operative position to retain it in an open position.

2. A signaling device for usewith motor buses, said device comprising a plate adapted to be dis posed along the outer 'side 'of a bus and to be} hinged thereto at its forward end, an ear project-j ing outwardly from said plate adjacent its hinged end, a shaft journaled in the side of said bus and" adjacent to the hinged end of said plate, cranks keyed to the opposite ends of "saidshafn'an' adjustable link connected to the free end of one of said cranks and to said ear,'an operating" lever disposed on the inner side of said bus, and a link. connected to said leverand to said other crank'.

for swinging said signaling plate outwardly and forwardly to a position substantially at right an gles to the 'axis of the bus, 'saidlast mentioned link being moved past its'dead center as the plate" is swung to anoperative position to 'ret'ain "said plate in an operative position, and said first mentioned link being moved pastits dead center-when the plate is swung to a closed position'to retain it againstthe outer side of thebus," 1 

